Nana Kwame Bediako, the CEO of Kwarleyz Group of Companies, is the latest winner of the highly sought-after Lifetime Africa Achievement Prize (LAAP) for Entrepreneurial Excellence in Africa at the Millennium Excellence Awards Gala, which was held at the plush Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel in Accra, Ghana, on August 20.
The award is given to people who have a proven track record of selfless devotion to causes that are meant to bring about change and improve people’s lives for the better. The award celebrates Africans and non-Africans who have made significant and ongoing contributions to the radical advancement of Africa and the African people.
Past recipients of the award include Nobel Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu from South Africa, Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote from Nigeria, Africa’s richest woman Isabel Dos Santos from Angola, Ivorian football star Didier Drogba, Dr. Kofi Annan, and Ethiopian athlete Haile Gebrselassie.
Accepting the prize, the Ghanaian real estate mogul Nana Kwame Bediako asked African youth to create their own employment opportunities by venturing into entrepreneurship.
The choices and decisions that we make as individuals are what drive us into what we are ~ Bediako said.
Who Is Nana Kwame Bediako?
Born in Ghana and raised in London, 33-year-old Bediako has become one of the youngest African entrepreneurs, building his empire in the real estate industry.
Bediako’s first company, Wonda World, was established in 2001 to develop and manage properties in prime areas around Ghana, including Trasacco Valley, Cantonments, and East Legon.
Over the years, the company has grown to become one of the leading real estate firms in Ghana and across Africa. Its current portfolio comprises over 70 homes including large-scale, modern apartment blocks that are expected to revolutionize Ghana’s real estate industry.
So far, the young entrepreneur has constructed notable buildings in Ghana, including Lincoln Avenue, Kwarleyz, and many more.
He says his current innovative project “Petronia City” was inspired by the desire to grow Africa with great infrastructural development. Aimed at bridging the housing deficit in Ghana, the “city” is designed around the ideology of “work, live, learn, and play” within the same complex.
Petronia City is a self-sustaining, master-planned, integrated city. It will attract, retain, and support businesses, human capital needs, and elevate Ghana’s Western Region into a world-class business location, tourist destination, and home ~ Bediako says.
Built on a 2000-acre piece of land, Petronia City will include residential, office, industrial, commercial, leisure, and hospitality spaces.
We’re on a mission to merge design, technology, and nature into a fully-integrated ecosystem – one that will be sustained and grow for generations to come ~ Bediako says.
Bediako is another great testament to the fact that Africa is pregnant with endless business opportunities. His success – and this Lifetime Achievement Award – demystifies the long-standing myth that there are no green pastures in Africa.
